9 Secrets of Professional Copywriters

Have you ever read a well crafted sales letter and raced for your wallet to buy whatever it was selling? Ever wonder how copywriters can compel you to part with your cash so quickly? Here is a list of the 9 best kept secrets that professional copywriters use to make sales.

1. Professional copywriters use psychology.

Studies have shown that consumers make decisions based on emotion. Professional copywriters use that knowledge to their advantage and write deftly worded copy that makes an emotional connection.

Brasco outlines a few trigger emotions. They might read a bit like the seven deadly sins, but your readers simply want you to solve their problem and make them feel good about their decision.

2. Professional copywriters study what they sell.

Great copywriting isn’t about the product at all; to be effective, sales copy must always be about the consumer. What do they want? What is their problem? How will your product or service make life better? Professional copywriters study what they are selling from the consumer’s point of view, the better to make it deliciously irresistible.

3. Professional copywriters focus on headlines.

Professional copywriters often spend hours and sometimes days working out the perfect headline for a sales copy. It is a trade secret that the headline has about three seconds to capture the reader’s attention. Not only that, 8 out of 10 people read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will click through to read the rest.

The headline must instantly grab your reader’s interest or they’ll be gone before they can blink. You can read more about the importance of a headline on Copyblogger.

4. Professional copywriters stick with AIDA.

Copywriting formulas have been around since there were copywriters to follow them, and AIDA is the gold standard. AIDA stands for:

• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action

Copywriters who follow AIDA grab your attention with the headline. They get you interested by telling a story, or asking a question. They build up your desire for the product by pointing out all the benefits, and finally get you to take action by actually telling you what to do.

5. Professional copywriters use scarcity.

How often have you read sales copy that states:

• Only 10 left at this price! Or,
• Offer only good for X number of days!

Hinting at scarcity instills a sense of urgency in the reader, since they’ll lose out if they don’t act right away. Scarcity, urgency and exclusivity are three highly motivating elements that make readers feel the need to get in on the action. After all, if they miss out now, they will still be stuck with their problem tomorrow.

6. Professional copywriters make promises.

Professional copywriters know that wishy-washy copy will send consumers into the arms of a more reassuring product. That’s why they make iron clad guarantees that are difficult to pass up on. Some examples of guarantees are:

• Double your money back if not satisfied.
• Free, no obligation trial period
• Free samples

Don’t be afraid to make promises in your copy, but always, always, always follow through.

7. Professional copywriters employ repetition.

Readers are forgetful folks with short attention spans. Professional copywriters make sure to remind the audience of key points more than once, often setting them apart with bullet points and subheaders.

8. Professional copywriters define a unique selling proposition.

Professional copywriters build the whole of their copy around a single unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is essentially the reason your reader should buy from you instead of your competition. It can be bold, or it can be subtle, but it must be present.

9. Professional copywriters hold the reader’s hand.

It isn’t enough to tell a great story and make your reader feel something moving. You’ve led them to the call to action, now you must remove all barriers to purchasing by telling your reader exactly what to do, and exactly what they will get in return.

And there you have it, the 9 best kept secrets of professional copywriters that turn readers into buyers. Now that you know, you can emulate the pros and write some sales copy that will get the conversions flowing. Is there anything else you’d like to know about professional copywriters?